Arteta Fuming as Uefa VAR Denies Arsenal Late Penalty in 1-1 Draw

Uefa’s Champions League semi-final first leg ended 1-1, but Arsenal left Madrid furious after a late penalty for Eberechi Eze was overturned in the 78th minute. Mikel Arteta said the decision had changed the course of the game, and the tie now moves to north London next Tuesday with everything still level.

Arteta and Makkelie

Dutch referee Danny Makkelie first pointed to the spot after David Hancko caught Eze with a late tackle. After a pitchside review, he changed his mind and withdrew the penalty, leaving Arsenal without a chance to take the lead from the spot late in the first leg.

Arteta did not hide his anger. “What I’m incredibly fuming with is how the hell the penalty on Ebs gets overturned in the manner that it happened when there is no clear and obvious error.” He added: “At this level, I’m sorry but this cannot happen.”

Gyökeres and Alvarez

The late reversal came after a match that had already featured two penalties. Makkelie had earlier awarded Arsenal one after Hancko fouled Viktor Gyökeres, and the forward converted. Atlético Madrid then received its own spot kick after a Ben White handball, and Julián Alvarez scored to make it 1-1.

That sequence left Arsenal needing a different finish to the first leg, and the denied call on Eze became the decisive flashpoint. Arteta said, “There is clear contact,” and added, “When you have to look at it 13 times … at this level it’s completely unacceptable.”

North London next Tuesday

Arteta said he was proud of how Arsenal handled the night in a hostile atmosphere. “I’m very proud,” he said, after a match in which Arsenal fought to keep the tie alive and still have the return leg at home.

The second leg in north London next Tuesday gives Arsenal the chance to turn a draw into progress, but the memory of that 78th-minute review will sit over the tie until then.